The acronym SMART in the term SMART goals, when expanded, indicates the set of criteria that needs to be followed in order to successfully implement projects.
Most professionals agree that the successful implementation of a project demands setting up of certain meaningful guidelines and SMART goals. Apart from its dictionary meaning, the word ‘SMART’ is more used by project professionals as an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic and Time-based goals.
Significance of SMART Goals
Once the project is conceptualized, the next obvious step is to set SMART goals for its successful implementation.
SPECIFIC: The goals have to be specific as it is difficult to pursue goals that are ambiguous or not well defined.
MEASURABLE: All project work needs constant monitoring and periodic review will be possible and purposeful only if the goals are measurable.
AGREED UPON: One of the critical factors for the success of a project is team work. The various short-term and long-term goals needed for successful project completion have to be unanimously agreed upon by the key members to prevent the project getting delayed or derailed.
REALISTIC: A project has to be technically and financially viable for it to succeed. In other words, the goals have to be realistic even for dream projects.
TIME: Several projects drag on indefinitely because meaningful time-frames are not set in advance. Projects not completed on time may entail avoidable additional expenses and in certain cases, may even lose their relevance.
Benefits of SMART Goals
Most project management professionals confirm that the five-pronged SMART goals formula is proving to be highly helpful in successful completion of projects. In the absence of SMART goals, projects tend to be ill-defined, rendering periodic reviews ineffectual and resulting in cost and time overruns.
As soon as a project is conceived and its viability is established, the next immediate task should be for the team of project management professionals to assemble and set the SMART goals. Once the key members are clear in their minds what the SMART goals are, the project implementation will proceed on smooth lines. Experts opine that application of SMART goals leads to greater degree of commitment by all team members.
Application of SMART Goals
Most professionals believe that setting SMART goals is more in the nature of a macro-level concept to broadly define the steps needed to reach project completion, assign time frame and review periodically to measure the progress achieved. But to effectively apply SMART goals, each of these steps has to be broken down to proper achievable mini-steps. This method of application will make the larger goals look less daunting and guarantee speedier action to fulfill the project goals.
Benefits of SMART Goals
Some critics of SMART goals complain that setting achievable goals is more easily said than done. Who are the people to determine whether the goals thus set are achievable within the pre-determined time frames – they argue. Their principal objection to SMART goal setting is it is based on linear thinking and its scope is too narrow. Projects are implemented by talented professionals and confining these professionals to SMART goals, will rob them the joy, the excitement and passion of project completion.
The origin of the term SMART goals is still hazy except that Peter Drucker referred to a similar concept while defining objective-based management. The well-known business philosopher Jim Rohn says, “We want to set the goals that our heart conceives, that our mind believes, and that our bodies will carry out.”